


What was Left Unsaid?

by Jinxa15



Category: Choices: It Lives, Choices: It Lives In The Woods, It Lives (Visual Novels), It Lives in the Woods (visual Novels)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Focus on Noah Marshall, Foreshadowed Tragedy, It Lives in the Woods Gang (mentioned), Jane Marshall (mentioned) - Freeform, Lies, Manipulated Noah, POV Third Person, Pining, Secrets, Short One Shot, cross-posted from tumblr, no happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:53:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26997004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jinxa15/pseuds/Jinxa15
Summary: Noah kept secrets from his friends, but he wasn’t the only one.
Relationships: Noah Marshall/Main Character (It Lives In The Woods)
Kudos: 5





	What was Left Unsaid?

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a happy story, but it ended up changing quite a bit. AKA: This whole thing got rewritten as soon as the angst train took hold. 
> 
> MC is Delilah Devons and is called that throughout the story. 
> 
> Originally posted on Tumblr here: https://x-jinxa-x.tumblr.com/post/631899540384006144/what-was-left-unsaid-fandom-it-lives-in-the

Indistinct chatter surrounded Noah. Newly freed students gathered in front of the school. Some were gathering with their friends while others were heading to either their buses or cars. 

Noah paid little attention to those around him from his spot on the fountain. 

He stared off into the parking lot with unfocused and dazed eyes. He couldn’t focus on anything else around him. There were just too many thoughts bouncing around his head. He was supposed to meet up with Jane after school. He had promised to do so at her insistence so they could go over the plan again. 

He had made many promises to her after she had revealed herself to him. He promised to help her. He promised to set her free. It was the least he could do to prove he was a good brother. 

He had to do this, and he had to get all of his friends to play the game again. They all had to play as it was the only way to set her free.

“Noah?”

He jolted up, straightening his back, and snapping his head in the direction of the voice that had called his name. 

It was Delilah. She was standing to the right of him, wrapped in her soft pink sweater, smiling down at him. 

“Hey…” He tilted his head up towards her. “I thought you were going shopping today.” 

He hadn’t expected to run into anyone today once classes ended. Stacy had decided that all of the girls were going shopping together, much to Ava’s annoyance and Lily’s excitement. Andy had practice today while Lucas was helping with the homecoming committee preparing for the upcoming dance. 

The next chance they would likely all be together was the night of homecoming.

That was when it had to happen, that was when he would have to find a way to get them out to the woods.

“Yeah. I’m just waiting for the rest of the girls.” Delilah’s voice broke Noah from his thoughts once again. She plopped herself down on the fountain beside him, leaving a bit of space between them. “Stacy is hunting Ava down while Lily is saying good-bye to Britney.” 

“Ah…” Noah let out a disinterested sigh. 

Everyone in the group was excited about homecoming, but he couldn’t be excited about it. He had to focus on freeing Jane, no matter what. 

“What are you thinking about?” Once again, Delilah’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.

He tilted his head to look at her. Her head and her body were turned towards him, focusing all of her attention on him. 

He pressed his lips and shrugged. “Nothing.” 

Delilah’s eyes narrowed at him. “Noah…” She poked at his cheek lightly. “Come on, tell me what’s going on beanie boy.” 

Noah let out a soft chuckle, batting her hand away lightly. “Fine, just, stop…” He sighed. He tilted his head up to the semi-cloudy sky above him. “I guess…I’m just worried.” He admitted aloud.

“What are you worried about?” Delilah asked him. 

Noah pressed his lips at her question. He had hoped she wouldn’t have pushed him, that she would just leave things be like she used to. 

He probably should have known better though… 

She had changed. Just weeks ago she wouldn’t have asked any more questions. She would have just let things be. Just a few weeks ago she used to be unable to look him in the eye for too long.

Now though…

Now she _looked_ at him. 

She looked at him like he was important to her. Like she cared about him. Like she wanted him to be happy. 

That was how she was looking at him now. She had gotten a little closer to him. There was still a sliver of space between them, but it was far less than it originally had been when she first sat down beside him.

“It’s just…well…” He licked his lips, struggling to form words while she stared at him. He couldn’t tell her the truth. He couldn’t tell any of his friends. They wouldn’t understand. 

So much could go wrong at homecoming. Cops could be called, the group could be separated, or someone could start asking questions that would make it far harder to get them into the woods. 

He turned his head away to look down at his worn dirty sneakers. “…Are things just going to go back to normal after this?” He managed to find some words and string them into a sentence. “Like, everything is fine for now, but what happens after homecoming?” 

It was a lie, but the lie did some from somewhere genuine. He was worried about things going back to normal, back to his old friends hanging out with their other friends, back to Delilah avoiding him at every chance. 

“Hey.” Delilah moved her hand under his chin, touching him gently with her finger and getting him to look back at her. There was a warm smile on her face directed at him. “Things aren’t going back to they used to be, not while I’m here.” 

Noah was quiet. 

He wanted to believe her. He wanted to believe that his friends would stick with him and understand why he kept the truth from them, but Jane said that they wouldn’t understand why they had to play the game again. She said that they would try to stop him and they would only reseal her in that house again, and he couldn’t pretend that she was wrong.

It would be easier to seal her away and pretend she didn’t exist as they had back when Jane had first died.

But what about Delilah? 

Maybe she would understand. 

Maybe she would help him. 

Maybe she could even convince their friends to play the game again for the sake of freeing Jane. 

Then again…maybe she wouldn’t. 

She had gone off into the woods on her own to speak with Jane, back when they all thought she was Redfield. Jane could have told her, but she didn’t. There had to be a reason for that. 

Noah gulped before speaking, lifting his head away from her hand. “You sure about that? It’s easy for things to go back to normal.”

Delilah pressed her lips. “I don’t want things to be “normal” between us again.” 

Noah looked at Delilah, surprised by her words. 

There was a strange sad look in her eyes that confused him. A smile returned to her face, but it didn’t look right. It was tense and forced like she was trying to hold something back that could slip out if she let herself relax for even a moment. 

Noah stared at her, trying to make sense of the strange stiffness that had suddenly come over her. 

What was she holding back?

“Delilah!” The two broke away at the familiar voice that broke the silence between them. 

“Hey, Stacy.” Delilah greeted the other girl who was being followed by Lily and Ava.

“Hey. We’ve been looking for you.” Stacy glanced over Delilah to Noah, seemly not to have noticed him for a moment. “Hi, Noah.” She greeted him and Noah waved back.

“Sup.” Noah gave a short wave to the group of girls. Lily waved back and Ava nodded her head at him. 

“You joining us for dress hunting?” Ava asked with her arms crossed over her chest. 

Noah let out a short laugh and shook his head. “Nah. I get near glitter, I break out in hives.” 

Ava’s eyes widened at his words. “Oh! Me too, I guess-”

“No.” Stacy interrupted before Ava could finish her excuse. “You’re getting in my car and we’re going shopping.” The cheerleader turned to the wannabe witch and began pushing her lightly towards the parking lot. 

Ava hissed but went along with Stacy as the two made their way towards Stacy’s car. 

“We should get going before the store gets packed.” Lily looked to Delilah, who nodded. 

“Fair point.” Delilah stood up, smoothing out her jeans, and turned back to Noah. “I’ll see you later?” She asked with a small hopeful smile on her face.

Noah couldn’t fight the smile that formed on his lips. “Yeah…”

He wasn’t sure if it was the sun getting in his eyes, but it seemed like Delilah’s smile grew a little wider before she turned away to follow after the other girls. His eyes followed after her, focusing on her pink sweater as she followed Lily and got into Stacy’s car. 

A tightness came over his chest and he had to look away. He turned his eyes to the woods far off in the distance, pressing his lips before sighing. He had a promise to keep. 

He looked back to the parking lot, spotting Stacy’s car at the parking lot’s exit waiting for an opportunity to leave.

Delilah’s face flashed in his mind. Her tight smile, her sad eyes, it caused him to press his lips again. 

She had wanted to say something but chose not to. Why? And just what had she wanted to say?

Noah shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts from his mind. 

“If it was important, she would just tell me…” He told himself before pushing himself off the fountain and beginning his walk towards the woods.

He had more important things to focus on right now. 


End file.
